TULANE UNIVERISTY BASEBALL ARBITRATION COMPETITION NELSON CRUZ V. TEXAS RANGERS BRIEF FOR THE TEXAS RANGERS TEAM # 13 SPRING 2012

Transcription

1 TULANE UNIVERISTY BASEBALL ARBITRATION COMPETITION NELSON CRUZ V. TEXAS RANGERS BRIEF FOR THE TEXAS RANGERS TEAM # 13 SPRING 2012

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction 3 II. III. IV. Quality of the Player s Contribution During the Past Season 3 Length and Consistency of Career Contributions..5 Past Player Compensation..7 V. Comparative Baseball Salaries...8 VI. VII. VIII. Physical or Mental Defects.9 Club s Performance 11 Conclusion..12 2

3 I. Introduction The purpose of this brief is to assist in determining the amount of compensation for the Texas Rangers (hereinafter the Rangers ) outfielder Nelson Cruz (hereinafter Mr. Cruz ). The relevant criteria for this determination are found in the Major League Baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement (hereinafter CBA ). Under the relevant section of the CBA, the scope of permissible information for this Arbitration Panel includes: Mr. Cruz s contribution to the Rangers during the past season, including his overall performance, public appeal, and leadership; Mr. Cruz s career contributions; records of Mr. Cruz s past compensation; other Major League Baseball salaries that are comparable to that of Mr. Cruz; any mental or physical defects; and the Rangers recent performance record. 1 In particular, the Arbitration Panel should place significant attention to contracts of other players not exceeding one annual service group above Mr. Cruz for purposes of a comparative salary analysis. 2 Based on these criteria, the Rangers have offered Mr. Cruz compensation in the sum of $4.7 million. Mr. Cruz had submitted an offer for $5.3 million. The Texas Rangers respectfully request this Arbitration Panel to find that Mr. Cruz is entitled to the Rangers last best contract offer of $4.7 million. II. Quality of the Player s Contribution During the Past Season Mr. Cruz was traded to the Rangers in 2006 after playing for the Milwaukee Brewers for two years. 3 The Rangers not only value Mr. Cruz, but would also enjoy having him continue his career with them. However, while Mr. Cruz s career has seen many highlights, his 2011 season was not his best performance. 1 MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, Basic Agreement, Article VI(F) 12(a)-(b). 2 Id. at 12(a). 3 Baseball-Reference.com, Nelson Cruz, 3

4 Table 1: Offensive Statistics for Yr G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS WAR These statistics illustrate that while Mr. Cruz is a talented baseball player, his skills do not warrant him to be one of the top outfielders in Major League Baseball. For instance, Mr. Cruz s 29 homeruns this season ranked him number 12 among a total of 62 outfielders in the league. 5 His RBI ranks him 21st among the outfielders, and he ranks 25th in strikeouts. 6 Mr. Cruz s batting average of earns him a rank of 35th for the 2011 season. 7 These statistics make it clear that Mr. Cruz was not a key aspect of the Rangers offense this season. Table 2: Defensive Statistics for Yr PO A E DP FP UZR Mr. Cruz s defensive statistics show a similar result; Mr. Cruz ranks number 41 out of 61 outfielders for put outs in the 2011 season. 9 His six assists also place him roughly in the middle of the rankings. 10 Furthermore, Mr. Cruz s six errors for the season place him high on the 4 Fangraphs, Major League Leader Boards: 2011 Outfielders Dashboard, on1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&players=0&sort=5,d. 5 Id. 6 Id. 7 Id. 8 Fangraphs, Major League Leader Boards: 2011 Outfielders Fielding Statistics, on1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&players=0&sort=0%2cd. 9 Fangraphs, Major League Leader Boards: 2011 Outfielders Fielding Statistics, on1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&players=0&sort=6%2cd. 10 Id. 4

5 rankings. 11 Finally, Mr. Cruz s UZR of -6.1 ranks him at Mr. Cruz s WAR ranking is arguably the most important statistic. The WAR is the wins above replacement statistic, which represents the number of wins Mr. Cruz added to the Rangers above what a replacement player would have added. 13 Mr. Cruz has a WAR of 1.6, which places him at the reserve level. 14 Mr. Cruz s WAR statistic ranks him at number 47 out of the total 62 outfielders for the 2011 season. 15 This is not an impressive statistic, and when paired with Mr. Cruz s other statistics from the 2011 season it is evident that the Rangers compensation offer of $4.7 million is generous in reflection of his skills. III. Length and Consistency of Career Contributions Mr. Cruz s professional baseball career began in 1998 when he was signed to the New York Mets as a free agent. 16 After a few years, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics in 2000, and later to the Milwaukee Brewers in It was not until he was traded to the Rangers in 2006 when Mr. Cruz s baseball career truly began to blossom. For instance, Mr. Cruz did not hit his first grand slam until August 2006, almost a decade after first breaking into the baseball profession. 18 Furthermore, Mr. Cruz failed to make the major league roster before the 2008 season. 19 It is clear that Mr. Cruz has had a successful career as a professional baseball player, however it is also evident that his career is on the decline. As a result, Mr. Cruz s career is not 11 Id. The highest number of errors committed by an outfielder was 13, by Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks. There was one player with 10 errors, three players with 8 errors, five players with 7 errors, and, including Mr. Cruz, six players with 6 errors. 12 Id. 13 Baseball-Reference.com, Wins Above Replacement Player, 14 Id. The scale for the single season is as follows: < 0 is replacement level, 0-2 is reserve level, 2-5 is starter level, 5-8 is All-Star quality, and 8+ is MVP quality. 15 Fangraphs, Major League Leader Boards: 2011 Outfielders Dashboard, on1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&players=0&sort=5,d. 16 Baseball-Reference.com, Nelson Cruz, 17 Id. 18 The Baseball Page, Nelson Cruz Baseball Stats, 19 Id. 5

6 consistent. One example of this was from the 2010 season where in Game 5 of the World Series he managed to hit a home run, but was later the final out. 20 A comparison of his career statistics with the Rangers illustrates these results. Table 3: Offensive Career Statistics 21 Yr G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS WAR Note: underlined and bold statistics represent highest career statistic. These statistics show a volatile career for Mr. Cruz. For instance, while he had a 475 AB statistic for the 2011 season, a career high, his batting average for the season ranks third. In addition, his 116 strikeouts in the 2011 season is his second career high, following the 118 strikeouts in the 2009 season. Most telling is the fluctuation of Mr. Cruz s WAR statistic, which soared to 5.1 in 2010 but managed to drop to a meager 1.6 for the 2011 season. His career defensive statistics follow a similar pattern. 20 Id. 21 Fangraphs, Nelson Cruz, 6

7 Table 4: Defensive Career Statistics 22 Yr PO A E DP FP UZR Once again, Mr. Cruz s 2011 statistics do not reflect a positive career high. His largest number of putouts and assists came in the 2009 season, while his six errors in the 2011 season was a career high. In addition, in the span of one year, his UZR statistic dropped from an impressive 10.0 to a Mr. Cruz has struggled to maintain a basic level of improvement as his career progresses. As such, the Rangers should not have to risk a larger compensation amount for a player who is unable to keep his performance consistent over time. IV. Past Player Compensation For the 2007 season, Mr. Cruz earned $382,000 at the age of In 2009, the Rangers increased his salary to $408,000 and increased it to $440,000 in For the 2011 season, Mr. Cruz earned a staggering $3,650,000 one-year contract at the age of That amount is more than eight times his 2010 salary. This amount is also far about the minimum 2011 season salary of $414, Mr. Cruz has a Major League Service Time of and for the Id. 23 Baseball-Reference.com, Nelson Cruz, 24 Id. 25 Id. 26 MLB Frequently Asked Questions, What is the minimum salary of a Major Leaguer? 7

8 season he is second-year arbitration eligible. 27 As a result, the arbitration process influenced Mr. Cruz s 2011 salary. 28 The Rangers offer of $4.7 million for the 2012 season is reflective of Mr. Cruz market value, as illustrated above with his career statistics. In addition, it is often viewed that the Club has more power than the player when it comes to arbitration because it is far more common for a player to settle at or below the midpoint between the player s offer and the Club s offer. 29 As such, the Rangers offer for the 2012 season is not only fair, but a generous raise from Mr. Cruz s salary from the 2011 season. V. Comparative Baseball Salaries Mr. Cruz s last best offer of $5.3 million suggests that, in his view, he is statistically comparable to the Minnesota Twins outfielder Delmon Young. Last year, Mr. Young was eligible for arbitration. Mr. Young offered $6.25 million, the Twins offered $4.65 million, and they settled for a one-year contract for $5.375 million. 30 However, an analysis of Mr. Cruz s statistics with those of Mr. Young shows that the two players are not statistically comparable. Table 5: Offensive Comparables 31 Cruz: DOB 7/1/ Salary: $3.65 million 2012 Salary: Arbitration MLST at Contract: Yr G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS WAR Car Baseball-Reference.com, Nelson Cruz, 28 Edmonds, Ed. A Most Interesting Part of Baseball s Monetary Structure- Salary Arbitration in its Thirty-Fifth Year, 20 Marq. Sports. L. Rev. 1 (2009) at 7, citing the CLB to show that arbitration eligible players are able to ask for compensation closer to their actual market value. 29 Id. at The Biz of Baseball, Arbitration Figures, 31 Fangraphs, Nelson Cruz, ; Delmon Young, 8

9 Young: DOB 9/14/ Salary: $2.6 million 2011 Salary: $5.375 million MLST at Contract: Yr G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS WAR Car Table 6: Defensive Comparables 32 Cruz Yr PO A E DP FP UZR Car Young Yr PO A E DP FP UZR Car One of the first major differences between Mr. Cruz and Mr. Young is that Mr. Young is five years younger than Mr. Cruz and it is common knowledge that age in professional sports is often a key element in one s success. While their defensive statistics are much more comparable, an analysis of their respective offensive statistics yields a different result; Mr. Young s offensive statistics overall are better than Mr. Cruz s statistics. Notably, Mr. Young s statistics are better than Mr. Cruz s statics in AB, R, H, 2B, RBI, SO, and AVG for both the platform year and overall career. 33 As a result, it is clear that Mr. Cruz is not statistically comparable to Mr. Young and, as such, should not receive a salary that is on par with Mr. Young s salary from the 2011 season. VI. Physical or Mental Defects Mr. Cruz has suffered several physical injuries during his professional baseball career. His first notable injury occurred in 2009 when he injured his ankle. This resulted in him missing 32 Id. 33 Id. 9

10 some time during the season. 34 Mr. Cruz was placed on the Rangers disabled list (hereinafter DL ) three times during the 2010 season, and each time was due to a hamstring injury. 35 The first injury occurred in late April 2010 when he strained his right hamstring. 36 A month later, he endured a left hamstring strain, and his third hamstring strain occurred in August. 37 As a result of these injuries, Mr. Cruz only played in 108 games during the 2010 season. 38 Mr. Cruz s hamstring problems forced him to alter his running style to avoid further harm. 39 While a strained muscle may not be a career-altering injury, three strains in the span of a few months seem to have had an adverse effect on Mr. Cruz, who has been on the DL five times in the last two seasons. 40 Mr. Cruz continued to be plagued by his leg injuries in the 2011 season. Most notably, Mr. Cruz suffered from a strained groin in October during the Rangers Game 6 of the World Series. Mr. Cruz managed to play during Game Thus, Mr. Cruz is allegedly using his time during the off-season to concentrate on his legs. 42 Although this is a positive outlook, there is no guarantee that Mr. Cruz, who will turn 32 this year, will be able to make a full recovery for the 2012 season. Therefore, there is no indication that Mr. Cruz will remain healthy, and his past injuries suggest that leg injuries will persist into the 2012 season. 34 NBC Sports: Hardball Talk, Nelson Cruz altering running style to avoid hamstring injuries, 35 ESPN Dallas/Forth Worth, Third hamstring injury for Nelson Cruz, 36 Id. 37 Id. 38 Texas Rangers, Nelson Cruz Stats, ype=%27r% NBC Sports: Hardball Talk, Nelson Cruz altering running style to avoid hamstring injuries, 40 SportsDayDFW, Nelson Cruz focusing on health, won t play in Dominican League, 41 ESPN Dallas/Fort Worth, Lineups: Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli in, 42 Id. 10

11 VII. Club s Performance In 2010, the Rangers placed first in the American League West Division with a record of 90-72, but lost the World Series in Game 5 to the San Francisco Giants. 43 However, the 2011 season was just as impressive. The Rangers had a strong 2011 season, and finished the season in first place in the American League West Division with a record. 44 The Rangers went on to play in the 2011 World Series, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game In addition, the Rangers enjoyed a 12 game winning streak from July 4th through July 19, With the exception of the month of May, the Rangers maintained a winning record every single month. 47 The Rangers statistics for the 2011 season are impressive as well. Table 7:The Rangers Offensive Statistics for G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS WAR Table 8:The Rangers Defensive Statistics for PO A E DP FP UZR Baseball-Reference.com, 2010 American League Team Statistics and Standings, 44 Baseball-Reference.com, 2011 American League Team Statistics and Standings, 45 Id. 46 Baseball-Reference.com, 2011 Texas Rangers, 47 Id. 48 Fangraphs, Texas Rangers Team Stats: 2011 Batters Standard Statistics, on1=2011&ind=0&team=13,ts&rost=0&players=0. 49 Fangraphs, Texas Rangers Team Stats: 2011 All Positions Fielding Statistics, on1=2011&ind=0&team=13,ts&rost=0&players=0. 11

12 The Rangers ranked first among all of the MLB teams for their batting average. 50 In addition, they ranked second among all of the teams for their homerun record, and third for their RBI statistic. 51 Their WAR statistic ranked them second overall. 52 Defensively, their PO statistic ranked them number 24 overall, and they ranked 26th overall for their A statistic. 53 Their UZR score placed them 6th overall. 54 Additionally, the Rangers have a faithful fan base. In the 2011 season a total of 2,946,949 fans attended the Rangers 81 home games. That is an average of 36,382 people per game. 55 This impressive turnout allowed the Rangers to be ranked 10th overall in the Major League Baseball Attendance Report for Therefore, the Rangers successful season is reflected in its supportive community of fans. VIII. Conclusion Upon review of the aforementioned criteria, the Rangers have determined that $4.7 million is fair compensation for Mr. Cruz s services for the 2012 season. While Mr. Cruz has experienced an impressive career in professional baseball, he also has exhibited a history of injuries and an inability to maintain a standard for his skills. As a result, it seems that Mr. Cruz s career could be on the decline. Therefore, the Texas Rangers respectfully request this Arbitration Panel to consider the factors above and find that the sum of $4.7 million as fair compensation to Mr. Cruz for the 2012 baseball season. 50 Fangraphs, Major League Team Stats: 2011 Batters Dashboard, on1=2011&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&players=0&sort=4,d. 51 Id. 52 Id. 53 Id. 54 Id. 55 ESPN MLB, MLB Attendance Report- 2011, 56 Id. 12